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Outage Center

Report an Outage

To report outages, simply dial 843-369-2212. Through your telephone number, you’ll be linked to Horry Electric Cooperative’s outage reporting system.

Horry Electric Cooperative’s outage text message alert program – MyOutage – provides a convenient way to stay connected during a power outage.

Horry Electric Cooperative also has ways to report power outages online, via app, and another text message option.

View outages across Horry Electric Cooperative’s service area, in addition to estimated restoration times.

Outage FAQs

Steps to Restoring Power

  1. Transmission lines – If there is damage to power plants, switchyards or transmission lines, those facilities must be repaired by our power supplier before we can restore your service.
  2. Substations – Horry Electric has several distribution substations, each serving thousands of members. When a major outage occurs, the local distribution substations are checked first. If the problem can be corrected at the substation level, power may be restored to a large number of people.
  3. Distribution lines – Main distribution supply lines are checked next, if the problem cannot be isolated at the substation. These supply lines carry electricity away from the substation to a group of members, such as a subdivision. When power is restored at this stage, all members served by this supply line could see the lights come on, as long as there isn’t a problem farther down the line.
  4. Individual services – The final supply lines, called service lines, carry power from the transformer on utility poles or underground transformer outside homes or other buildings. Line crews fix the remaining outages based on restoring service to the greatest number of members. Sometimes, damage will occur on the service line between your home and the transformer on the nearby pole. This may explain why you have no power when your neighbor does.

Preventative maintenance is the best tool against outages, but there are outages caused by acts of nature, equipment failure, and even vehicle accidents that are beyond the control of the Cooperative.

Horry Electric cannot guarantee continuous and uninterrupted electric service and will not be liable for loss or damage to any member’s equipment, medication or personal items caused by any failure to supply electricity or by an interruption or reversal of the supply of electricity, if due to any cause beyond the reasonable control of the Cooperative. These causes include, but are not limited to, acts of nature, equipment failure and vehicular accidents.

Members should immediately notify the Cooperative of any defect in service or of any trouble or irregularity in the electric supply.

Are you protected? Many losses occur due to acts of nature or equipment failure beyond the control of the Cooperative. Individual members must provide their own protection against these losses.

Horry Electric emergency crews will be on the job until all power is restored. In an effort to get the greatest number of homes and businesses back on as soon as possible, primary and secondary lines will be the first priority for the crews, followed by the lines to individual homes.

If you lose power during a major storm, please be patient. Crews systematically restore power in a specific order, so their job can be done as efficiently and safely as possible.

While underground lines are not outage proof, they are less susceptible to wind damage, which is always present in hurricane situations. Underground lines, however, may present restoration challenges when flooding is involved. It also takes a longer amount of time and specialized equipment to find problems with underground cable.

Preventive maintenance is the best tool against outages. In addition to ensuring the lines, poles and transformers are in top-notch condition, Horry Electric employs an aggressive tree trimming and right-of-way clearing program. After a hurricane, downed trees and branches are usually the primary cause of outages. Keeping the power lines rights-of-way clear reduces the chances of tree-related outages.

Very rarely does wind alone impact an electric system. Our system is built to easily withstand 65+ MPH winds. If you took the average electric system and put it out in the middle of a field, the winds would blow right by it and not affect the system. It’s trees and other things that are affected by the winds that bring down the system.

Our goal is to restore service to as many members as quickly and safely as possible. As a rule of thumb, power is usually restored in this order: transmission lines, substations, distribution lines, and individual services.

We give special consideration to public safety facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, fire departments, emergency shelters, water and sewer systems, grocery stores and town halls.

Horry Electric maintains a list of members dependent on life support medical systems. Members on this special needs list are strongly encouraged to have a plan in place. Consider a generator, seek shelter in an emergency facility, or evacuate inland until power is restored.

There is NO GUARANTEE electric service will not be interrupted in the event of a storm, so emergency plans should be made well in advance. Personal preparations are the full responsibility of the individual.

All of Horry Electric’s employees are involved in the restoration process. The most visible are the linemen, who are the individuals trained in the construction and maintenance of power lines.

In addition, we have crews from sister cooperatives in South Carolina, and all across the country, who can come in and assist. Contract crews, our own and those who work with other cooperatives, are also called in to help with the restoration process.

Everyone is on standby to provide assistance as quickly as possible after the storm. Being on high alert and being prepared enables us to instantly get to work once the high winds or inclement weather subsides.

That’s determined by the intensity of the storm. As our motto states, safety is our top concern. As soon as it’s safe to restore power, the restoration process begins. To facilitate the process, crews and supplies are staged close to the predicted storm damage area, so restoration can begin as soon as it is safe to do so.

Once the power goes out, it’s important to turn off every unnecessary electrical item. Every item requiring electricity puts a strain on the system. The less initial electric demand on the system, generally the quicker power can be fully restored. If the initial demand is too great, the system will overload and the power will go off again. There are two exceptions – A light inside the house should be left on to signal when power has been restored and the porch light should be switched on, so cooperative personnel can tell which homes have their electricity restored.

Once power is restored, gradually turn on lights, air conditioners, heaters and other electrical appliances back on (say over the course of 30 minutes) to ease the demand on the system.

If you see a downed power line, STAY AWAY!! Call the cooperative immediately. People should always stay away from downed or sagging power lines. All downed power lines should be treated as if they were energized and potentially deadly. If you see a downed line, stay away and call Horry Electric at 843-369-2212. If it’s an emergency, call 911.

Generator safety: Under no circumstances should gas-powered generators be used indoors or in attached garages. Burning charcoal grills and portable generators create carbon monoxide, so these should only be used outdoors. You cannot see or smell carbon monoxide. Opening a window or using a fan does not help. Carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms include: dizziness, fatigue, and nausea. Exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide can cause death. If you use a portable generator to supply electricity during a power outage, be safe and know the facts. If generators are used improperly, they can kill you and the people restoring power to your building or home. Connecting a generator to the main electrical supply for your house requires the services of a qualified, licensed electrician. If you use a standby generator during a power outage, contact the cooperative.

With a freezer that’s full, food can stay frozen up to 48 hours. A half-full freezer can still keep food frozen up to 24 hours after the power goes out. Should the power stay off for several days, dry ice can preserve food in the freezer. If you have a picnic cooler, and time to make ice in your own refrigerator, fill the cooler before the storm hits. Try to resist the urge to look inside and check on the items in the refrigerator/freezer.

How It Works

In order for the outage reporting service to work effectively, you’ll need to listen carefully to the instructions.

  • If we already have a record of the phone number you’re using to report the outage, the service will recognize it and verify the outage location.
  • If you are billed for more than one meter, you’ll need to follow the detailed instructions provided by the outage reporting service.
  • In the messages option of the menu, you can leave a detailed message, which should include your name, the exact location of the outage and a telephone number where you can be reached if line crews who are working to restore power need to contact you. If you know the cause of the outage, this information is also very helpful.
  • As soon as your information is logged into the service, crews can be dispatched. The more detailed the information you provide, the easier it will be for crews to locate the problem and restore power as quickly and as safely as possible.

MyOutage Info

Horry Electric Cooperative’s outage text alert program – MyOutage – provides a convenient way to stay connected during a power outage. Using the everyday accessibility of text messaging, we can quickly and easily communicate about power outages.

How to Participate

Participating is easy! All you have to do is simply have your mobile number(s) listed on your Horry Electric accounts, then text MYOUTAGE to 1-844-369-2767. You can log into your MyEnergy Online account or call us at 843-369-2211 to add your mobile number. You’ll want to save this number to your contacts so you can quickly report your outage when necessary. (PLEASE NOTE: Standard text and data rates may apply)

Stopping Service

We are committed to making sure that you only receive text messages you have requested. To stop receiving outage text messages, text QUIT to 1-844-369-2767(PLEASE NOTE: Stopping the outage text notifications will not unsubscribe you from daily account text messages)

Frequently Asked Questions

OTHER REPORTING OPTIONS

Phone Number: 843-369-2212
Text “OUTAGE” to 352667
Report online through MyEnergy Online
Report via our free mobile app